Chris Sawyers hired as Canyon View head football coach

Newly hired Canyon View High School head football coach Chris Sawyers addresses his future players in school auditorium, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 5, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — Canyon View High School has hired Chris Sawyers to be the Falcons’ new head football coach, school officials announced Monday.

Speaking to an audience of a few dozen current and potential football players gathered in the auditorium after school, Sawyers introduced himself and said he hoped he would be able to help turn the program around. Canyon View was winless last fall, going 0-9 in its first year in the 4A classification. Former coach Skyler Miller left Canyon View after one season to take the head coaching job at Hurricane High.

Sawyers has 18 years’ experience as a football coach, most recently at Sunrise Mountain High School in Las Vegas, where he helped build its football program from one that was seeing little success — three wins in an eight-year span — into a more competitive program. Last fall, the Miners went 6-5, including a 30-28 upset win over host Moapa Valley in Nevada’s 3A regional playoffs.

“I love the game,” Sawyers told the boys. “I never would have made it through school if it wasn’t for sports. It’s something I value tremendously.”

Newly hired Canyon View High School head football coach Chris Sawyers shakes hands with some of his future players in school auditorium as activities director Kyle Robinson (right) looks on, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 5, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Sawyers, who also had stints as an assistant coach at both Dixie and Enterprise, said he and his wife have relatives in Cedar City and nearby places, and are looking forward to moving to the area.

He said when he and his wife, also a school teacher, were considering the Canyon View coaching job, they read news accounts online of how Canyon View student Obie Nef’s buddies restored his dad’s old Pontiac for him while he was recovering from a car accident in the hospital, and that helped seal the deal for the Sawyerses.

“We said, that’s the kind of community we want to raise our family in,” he said.

Sawyers, who will also be Canyon View High School’s full-time weight training teacher, told the boys success on the football field starts in the weight room.

“If we’re going to be successful, we’ve got to buy into the off-season,” he said, encouraging the boys to build up their strength and conditioning. He also asked them to help recruit more players by talking to their friends and asking them to join the team.

Sawyers told his future players he favors a spread-type offense, but said his teams have seen success in both run- and pass-oriented offensive schemes.

“We need to build the program around you guys,” he said. “I need to get to know you a little bit more before we figure out who we’re going to be offensively.”

At Monday’s auditorium meeting, Sawyers was joined by one of his Sunrise Mountain assistant coaches, defensive specialist Tylor Muse, who is planning on moving to Cedar soon to join Sawyer’s staff at Canyon View. Sawyers said that over the next 30 days or so, he plans to recruit other qualified assistants locally to be on his new coaching staff.

Although Canyon View didn’t win any games last fall, Sawyers noted that a few of the games were close, including a 7-0 loss to Snow Canyon.

“Our goal is to win those close games,” he said.

Sawyers acknowledged that wins and losses are not the only thing by which to judge a sports team’s success.

“But those on the outside, that’s how they judge us,” he acknowledged.

“This place has the talent to be successful,” he said, adding that another of his goals was to make playing football for Canyon View enjoyable.

“If we’re not having fun, we’re not doing it right,” he said.

Following Sawyers’ remarks, he greeted and shook hands with each of the boys as they exited the auditorium.

Those with questions about the Canyon View football program may visit the school’s athletics page for information, or contact CVHS activities director Kyle Robinson via email at kyle.robinson@ironmail.org.

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About the Author

A native of Salt Lake City, Jeff Richards lived in Moab for 20 years before joining the St. George News. He covered news, features, and sports as a part-time reporter for the Times-Independent, Moab's weekly community newspaper, and has contributed stories and photos to various other media outlets. He also taught high school English, journalism, and computer classes for 12 years, and was the school's yearbook and student newspaper adviser. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters, and also have a young grandson. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.